Two University of Illinois at Chicago juniors have been recognized by the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation for academic merit in the fields of mathematics and science.
Alan Tang, a biochemistry and mathematics double major, received a $7,500 scholarship and Joshua Jones, a mathematics major, earned an honorable mention. Both are in the UIC Honors College.
Tang, a Naperville, Ill. resident who graduated from Naperville North High School in 2008, says he has known since junior high that he wanted to be a doctor.
He won admission to UIC’s guaranteed professional program as a freshman, securing a spot in medical school upon completion of his undergraduate degree. He has been active in research programs at UIC and the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, where he worked during class breaks with pharmacology professor Kasem Nithipatihom investigating metastasis of prostate cancer cells.
“In the vast minority of patients, prostate cancer is extremely aggressive and metastasizes very quickly to surrounding tissue, then spreads aggressively to bones and the brain. Treatment becomes difficult, and prognosis is measured in months left to live, at best,” Tang said.
“Trying to understand the differences between aggressive and non-aggressive forms of prostate cancer was the overarching goal of my projects at MCW. What makes a normal cell become cancerous? What causes a non-aggressive cancer cell to become extremely aggressive and metastatic? How can we predict or detect this change in cell behavior in time to save lives?” Tang asked.
Tang has worked since last fall with Petr Kral, UIC assistant professor of chemistry, using modeling software to simulate peptide use in cancer cell drug delivery. Tang impressed the professor with his breadth of scientific interest and research publications as an undergraduate. His cancer research findings have been published in two papers, with another in preparation.
“It speaks volumes to the amount of time he has put towards his work,” wrote Kral in his scholarship nomination letter. In lauding Tang’s lab work, Kral wrote, “I am very impressed with his curiosity and willingness to learn new methods of investigation.”
Outside of classroom and research activities, Tang is a volunteer with the Chicago chapter of the Tzu Chi Foundation, a Taiwan-based international charitable and educational organization.
Tang said his career goal is to become an oncologist and establish a research laboratory. He plans to earn joint M.D.-Ph.D. degrees.
Jones, who received honorable mention, lives in Oak Brook Terrace, Ill. and graduated in 2007 from St. Joseph High School in Westchester, Ill. He plans a career in neuroscience after earning joint M.D.-Ph.D. degrees. The recipient of several university scholarships, he is a member of the Math Club and serves on UIC’s Honors College Diversity Task Force.
Nationally, 275 Goldwater scholarship winners were chosen from about 1,100 faculty-nominated candidates. The program, which began in 1986, is named for the late Arizona senator and 1964 Republican presidential nominee Barry M. Goldwater. It is considered among the top scholarships in the nation for undergraduates majoring in math, science or engineering.
For more information about UIC, visit www.uic.edu